


Captive Flame

by squidears



Series: A Mother's Touch [2]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Imprisonment, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Solitary Confinement, Trials, Wrongful Imprisonment, restraints are used but not in a kinky way more in a rights violation way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2020-03-07 18:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18878527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidears/pseuds/squidears
Summary: After their discovery by the Order and the subsequent capture of Rin and Yuri, a struggle ensues to determine their fates.





	1. Examination, Pt II

The True Cross Tribune

  
28 January, 201X

  
_PALADIN HELPED HIDE SATAN’S SPAWN?_

  
After a sudden arrest at the Southern Cross Boys’ Monastery on Saturday, it was revealed that the True Cross Order has charged Paladin Fujimoto Shirou as an accessory to the crime of harboring Satan’s illegitimate offspring. The child of Satan, who has yet to be identified, and its mother, Egin Yuri, were also taken into custody on Saturday. When contacted for further information, Fujimoto declined to comment. Although the Paladin has been released on bail, Egin Yuri and the child of Satan remain in custody.  
The trials for both Fujimoto Shirou and Egin Yuri are scheduled to take place on the 12th of February. A hearing will be conducted at a later date to determine the fate of Satan’s spawn.

—-  
Name: Egin Rin  
Date of Birth: 27/12/199X  Age: 15  
Sex: M  
Height: 168 cm   Weight: 63 kg  
Hair: White   Eyes: Blue  
HELD AS EVIDENCE, CURRENTLY IN CUSTODY OF VATICAN HQ  
 **HEAD TO TOE ASSESSMENT**  
 **General Status:** Average weight, poorly groomed adolescent male in clear distress  
 **Vital signs:** HR 100, RR 20, BP 130/70, Oral temp 40 C  
 **Neurological:** A&Ox4, all cranial nerves intact, Pupils not round but are equal, reactive to light, and accommodate, red _tapetum lucidum_ visible without use of fundoscope, otherwise WNL   
 **Psychosocial:** Withdrawn and uncooperative, not violent but refuses to talk. Understands Japanese. 4 point restraints ordered by True Cross appear to be exacerbating subject’s distress  
 **Respiratory:** fast,regular breathing otherwise WNL, pulse ox 99% on room air  
 **Cardiac:** All radial and pedal pulses palpable despite restraints, strong and regular S1 and S2 audible upon auscultation  
 **Gastrointestinal:** WNL  
 **Genitourinary:** Normal male genitalia, WNL  
 **Musculoskeletal** : Appearance normal with the exception of the presence of tail, range of mobility and function WNL, reported enhanced strength  
 **Integumentary:** Pale, diaphoretic, hot skin, no visible wounds. Pronounced demonic features, including pointed ears, tail, clawlike nails, and 2 white horn buds 3cm in length and 4cm in diameter present on forehead. Subject’s hair is a pale blue-white, natural coloring.  
 **Description:**   
Presence of blue flames was confirmed by Eminescu assay, but subject refused to display flames when asked. Positive for reaction to holy water. Subject showed incredible rate of regeneration of epidermis with no visible scarring.   
Genetic testing revealed that the subject shares 50% of DNA with Okumura Yukio and Egin Yuri, confirming their relationships as brother and mother respectively. Although no genetic material from Satan’s possession of [REDACTED] was retained, the subject shares 25% of his DNA with Az-004. Because Az-004 and [REDACTED] are genetically identical and possessed hosts only contribute 25% of their DNA to their children, this confirms that Egin Rin is the son of Satan as possessed by [REDACTED].

 

  
Name: Okumura Yukio  
Date of Birth: 27/12/199X   Age: 15  
Sex: M  
Height: 180 cm Weight: 70 kg  
Hair: Brown  Eyes: Green  
CURRENTLY UNDER THE CUSTODIAL CARE OF JOHANN FAUST V  
 **HEAD TO TOE ASSESSMENT**  
 **General Status:** Average weight, well groomed adolescent male in no immediate distress  
 **Vital signs:** HR 82, RR 16, BP 135/72, Oral temp 36 C  
 **Neurological:** A&Ox4, all cranial nerves intact, PERRLA, red _tapetum lucidum_ visible without use of fundoscope, otherwise WNL  
 **Psychosocial:** Withdrawn but cooperative. Speaks and understands Japanese, no restraints ordered or necessary.  
 **Respiratory:** Regular breathing WNL, pulse ox 97% on room air, reported history of asthma  
 **Cardiac:** WNL except for very faint innocent murmur  
 **Gastrointestinal:** WNL  
 **Genitourinary:** Not assessed  
 **Musculoskeletal:** WNL  
 **Integumentary:** Pale, dry, warm skin with multiple nevi, no visible wounds   
**Description:** Subject is a relatively phenotypically average Japanese male. Negative for response to Eminescu assay and holy water. Regenerative ability was not tested, but is assumed to be within normal human parameters.  
Genetic testing revealed that the subject shares 50% of his DNA with Egin Rin and Egin Yuri, confirming their relationships as brother and mother respectively. Although no genetic material from Satan’s possession of [REDACTED] was retained, the subject shares 25% of his DNA with Az-004. Because Az-004 and [REDACTED] are genetically identical and possessed hosts only contribute 25% of their DNA to their children, this confirms that Okumura Yukio is the son of Satan as possessed by [REDACTED].


	2. close every door to me

“It’s your turn to go in there.”

“No no no, _you_ should give him the tray. I think he likes you better.”

“If I’m going in, I’m not doing it alone!”

Rin listened to the bickering outside of his cell, resignation quickly eclipsing the gnawing in his stomach. They were late enough already with delivering his food— at least, according to his gut. They hadn’t put any sort of clock in his cell, and the tiny window in the door shone with fluorescent light from the outside hallway at all hours. He could have been in here anywhere from a few days to a few weeks; the only things marking the passage of time were meals and the number of times Rin had slept. Neither were particularly reliable. His meal schedule was inconsistent at best, and the longer he spent in here, the more difficult it was to distinguish between when he was awake and asleep. Rin couldn’t even be entirely sure he was awake right now— everything seemed dreamy and unreal nowadays.

The door creaked open with deafening noise and blinding light. Rin scrambled into a sitting-up position, pulling on what little of a glamour he was strong enough to muster. He made eye contact with the Exorcist tasked with giving him his meal, which was apparently a mistake; the metal tray began to clatter and clang, and he could hear the woman’s breathing quickening. Why was she so afraid? He hadn’t hurt any of them, not even when they captured him or examined him. Rin had done his best to seem as harmless and human as possible… but it clearly wasn’t enough.

The exorcist set the tray down near her own feet, several meters away from where Rin sat. The whole time her eyes never left him, as if she expected him to pounce at any moment.

“Thank you,” he said softly. Rin didn’t feel very grateful at all, but talking made him feel more like a person and less like a creature. He didn’t get the chance to talk much; he was alone a lot of the time, and many of the exorcists made him too afraid to speak. He was terrified of answering a question wrong and getting hurt— or worse, getting his family hurt. So he usually didn’t answer at all.

“You’re welcome,” replied the woman automatically. She realized what she’d done a few moments later, staring down at the demon boy with a look of shock on her face. _Rule number one for exorcists: don’t talk to demons_ , Rin remembered his uncle saying once.

_But you’re talking to me_ , Rin had replied, with the smug look of a kid who had outsmarted a Grown Up.

Uncle Shirou laughed, the kind of big, full laugh that brought tears to his eyes. _Kid, do you seriously think I’m the kind of guy who follows the dumb rules they give us?_

This exorcist clearly didn’t think those rules were dumb. She took them very seriously, if the way she dashed out of the room was any indication. So much for social interaction…  
He’d made a few attempts to ask about his family, but nobody had answered him yet. Rin didn’t want to assume the worst, but without any information his imagination grew more and more grim. At first, he’d been hopeful enough to think he was the only one imprisoned; now, he was sure his mother, brother, and even Uncle Shirou were languishing in similar cold, dark cells.

Despite his hunger, Rin had to force himself to eat the cold, tasteless food. Heating it with his flames didn’t do much to improve the experience, so he didn’t bother. After his meal, he laid down on the threadbare futon that passed for his bed. The only thing to do in this place was dream, so that was exactly what he did. Sometimes, it was the warm sun on his face and the rustling of green leaves in the wind; other times, it was two burning bullets in his chest and his mother’s anguished screams.  
The strangest dreams were the ones about the White Room. Rin himself wasn’t in those dreams, although he saw occasional glimpses of someone who looked a lot like him.   
_The room was bright and sterile, and it reminded Rin a little bit of the place they’d first taken him to strip him of his bloodied clothes and ogle at him like an exotic creature. The man (demon?) who wasn’t him was laying on a metal table in a white dress, surrounded by people with face masks and all kinds of scary-looking implements. He looked sick, pained, and furious as he writhed on the table. His head turned, and Rin locked eyes with him. Electric blue eyes, familiar and alien at the same time, with jagged irises that sent a chill down his spine—_

Just like that, he was back in his own dark cell. The door was opening again. Had he been asleep for that long, or was this just another dream? Rin squinted against the bright light, but couldn’t believe what he was seeing even after his eyes adjusted. He could have sworn his brother was standing in front of him, looking worried yet healthy.

“Yukio?” Rin said in disbelief, slowly sitting up. “…Are you really here?”

Yukio gave him the sort of concerned look that told Rin he was definitely the real deal. “I’m sorry I couldn’t visit sooner, Nii-san,” he said, kneeling down next to Rin’s futon. Holding his arms out, he pulled Rin into a hug; it took the older twin a few moments to remember how to respond. “Are you alright? What are they doing to you?”

“I’m okay,” Rin lied. “After the doctors came and looked at me they left me alone, mostly.” The doctors had been the worst part by far; the team of three people in scrubs and white coats said a few sentence fragments to him at best. They were too busy taking him out of his bloodied clothing, staring, and talking about him like he wasn’t there for them to explain anything to him. They had at least given him washcloths to clean off the blood, and clean clothing to wear in the form of old, bright orange scrubs. Rin was still wearing them. “Are you okay? What about Ma?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Yukio said quickly. Rin twitched; part of him knew he was being hypocritical, but he hated when Yukio put on a brave face. He knew his younger brother didn’t want him to worry, but what else did he have to do in here? “I’ve been living in the dorms at True Cross Academy. They’re holding Mother in another area, a holding cell meant for humans.” Yukio scowled; the Order refused to move his brother into similar accommodations, citing ‘safety’. Safety, his ass. “Her trial is soon, they might release her before then.”  
Yukio might have technically been “free”, but he was just as powerless as if they’d thrown him in a cell. Everyone treated him like he was a child, or worse— brainwashed. He hadn’t even been allowed to live with Fujimoto, instead finding himself in Mephisto’s care. He wanted to advocate for his mother and brother, but how could he do that when he couldn’t even advocate for himself?

The guilt settling like lead in Rin’s chest was a familiar friend at this point. The same thought he’d had countless times surfaced again: _This is all my fault._ This time, though, Rin didn’t express this opinion aloud; he knew it would do nothing but upset Yukio. He didn’t want or need to hear the little white lies and omissions his family used to comfort him when the truth became too much to bear.  
After his mother’s trial, Rin would have one of his own; nobody had told him this directly, but he’d been able to deduce it from the conversations held right outside his prison cell. Rin was normally something of an optimist, but even he couldn’t imagine the trial ending in anything other than his own death. He’d been living on stolen time since birth, after all.

When he thought about his own death, one desire drowned out everything else. “I want Ma,” he said, tears springing to his eyes. Once they started flowing, it wouldn’t stop; the next thing Rin knew, he was soaking Yukio’s shoulder with his tears. He felt the same sort of desperate, primal need for his mother he had as a kid, lost in a grocery store or left home alone for the first time. Words kept coming out of his mouth in jumbled fragments, accompanied by sobs. “I m-miss her— I missed y-you— I’m sc-scared!”

Yukio held his brother tightly, feeling a lump rise in his own throat despite his best efforts. “I know,” he said in a choked, quiet voice. Yukio couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried; he’d been prone to it when younger, but had grown out of the tendency before entering middle school. He hated how weak and childish it made him feel.   
That said, even he had a limit, and it was quickly approaching. He felt just as alone and scared as Rin— and he didn’t have anyone whose shoulder he could cry on, like Rin was currently doing on his. Yukio grit his teeth and tightened his grip on his twin even further; if a few tears slid down his cheeks, they did so in complete silence. His breath didn’t so much as hitch.

“I miss her too,” Yukio admitted quietly, his expression beginning to smooth out again. “She’ll be out soon. We’ll come see you together, okay?”

Rin nodded, sniffling. He took a few deep breaths to center himself before extracting himself from his brother’s arms. Just then, there was a rap on the door. Their visiting time was over. There was one final, quick hug, and then Rin was alone in his cell again.

In lieu of the loneliness Rin had expected from Yukio’s exit, he found himself filled with a new sense of resolve. He was alone right now, sure, but his brother would see him again soon. He’d see his mother again soon. He wasn’t as alone as he felt.  
He knew this feeling would probably fade, but for now, he was filled with a will to survive. If they wanted to execute him, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight— he would figure out some way to convince them he should live. Rin had never been a particularly fast or inventive thinker, but in here, he had nothing to do but think.

If it was his fault they were in this situation, he couldn’t let the work and suffering his family had done for him be in vain.

* * *

In Shirou’s opinion, there was no worse punishment than unpaid administrative leave. Paid administrative leave was a familiar friend to Fujimoto Shirou— technically a punishment, but in reality it was more like a paid vacation.

_Unpaid_ , though? Hell on Earth.

They at least gave you a bed and three square meals in prison, and you didn’t have to worry about bills if you got executed. Unpaid administrative leave was all of the annoying parts of adult life without any of the fun bits— no work to distract yourself, no money to pay bills, and no way to justify spending money on anything that could take the edge off.  
He had enough money saved to cover his living expenses, thankfully. And he’d always been a pretty minimalist kind of guy. But not being able to work at all was torture; he’d expected to be kept out of his Exorcist work, but being suspended from his priestly duties was an additional kick in the pants he hadn’t anticipated. Apparently, helping harbor the sons of Satan “was not behavior becoming of a Man of G-d”. Or something.

Shirou wondered if getting out on bail had really been worth it. He was doing the exact same thing he’d be doing in jail, anyways— sitting there doing nothing, with the occasional break to look at a dirty magazine or two. Shirou wasn’t allowed to discuss or request information on anything but his own upcoming trial; he had no news about Yuri or either of the twins. He wasn’t allowed to visit any of them, either, not even Yukio.

When he wasn’t sitting around bored out of his mind, he was being interrogated by his fellow priests. They were understandably shocked he’d hidden something like this from them for so long, and like everyone else, they wanted to know every sordid detail. The first night after he’d been let out on bail had been the worst. He’d come home cold and exhausted to a full kitchen, with all the other priests seated at the dining table and staring straight at him. They’d grilled him until the wee hours of the morning, but had seemed somewhat satisfied with his answers— satisfied enough to leak him what little information they could.

None of them were involved in the investigation, so most of it was hearsay and a few overheard snippets. Some of it was obvious bullshit to Shirou—he laughed when Nagatomo told him a rumor about Rin eating someone’s fingers—but occasionally, they brought him actual news.

Misumi was the one to bring him the latest tidbit. “I heard who’s conducting the investigation,” he whispered to Shirou while behind him in Communion line one Mass. Shirou raised a brow before stepping forward, bowing his head and receiving the Sacrament. When Misumi leaned forward and whispered the name into his ear, he narrowly avoided doing a spit-take with the Blood and Body of Christ.

“ _Lewin Light?!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Naming a chapter after the best song in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat? It's more likely than you think. Thank you so much for all of the reviews and kudos so far on both this fic and the previous one!


	3. Examination, Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewin begins his investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, but please accept this 5k chapter as an apology. I just started writing, and writing, and couldn't stop until it was perfect... As always, I appreciate your kudos and reviews! <3 Hope you enjoy!

The day Lightning was called to conduct the investigation into Satan’s illegitimate spawn was the happiest of his life. The only thing he loved more than demons was some good, old fashioned detective work— something he rarely got to do in his position as Arc Knight. This case in particular had always fascinated him, ever since he’d started combing through the records upon receiving his security clearances and uncovered some suspicious gaps in documentation. The most he’d been able to glean from people about the incomplete files was that a prominent young Tamer, Yuri Egin, had left the Order after a disastrous attempt to Tame the most powerful demon of all.  
Nobody had told him the attempt involved having Satan’s children! Then again, that part presumably wasn’t common knowledge… until now. The sudden raid on Fujimoto and Egin had uncovered a decade-long conspiracy between the two to hide these kids. Lewin’s job was to figure out why, and determine whether any good could come from their indiscretions.

He knew his job was to interrogate, but Lewin would be lying if he claimed he wasn’t excited to pick the famous Yuri Egin’s brain. He’d grown up reading her textbooks, long out of print, over and over; he liked to think of his own work as a spiritual successor to hers.

And the sons of Satan! Everyone else seemed to be terrified of the one who took after their father, but Lewin was nearly salivating at the chance to meet such a powerful Nephil. Since reading his first description of the Blue Night, he’d wanted to see those infamous flames in action. The demon boy had apparently refused to show his flames—or do much other than sit there in silence—but Lightning would figure out how to coax him out of his shell soon enough.  
The more human one was intriguing in his own, subtle way. Preliminary interviews had characterized him as “superficially friendly, with a backbone of steel”. The Order considered him something between a witness and a victim; not technically part of any of the trials or hearings, but an important source of information nonetheless.

If they could get him to talk, that is.

Lewin took another sip of his quadruple espresso, reviewing his notes one last time before he headed out. He’d start with the mother first, he decided. She’d been the most cooperative with the Order so far— and if she was like other mothers, she’d be easily persuaded to do or say anything for the sake of her kids. A much easier subject to interrogate than two teenagers or the hardened Paladin.

* * *

“State your name for the record, please,” Lewin said cheerfully.

The woman rolled her eyes and blew a greying curl off her face. “Yuri Egin,” she said gruffly. “Retired Lower Second Class Tamer, fourty-four years old.”

“Current occupation?”

“Prisoner.”

She certainly wasn’t being as cooperative as Lewin had hoped. He kissed his dreams of talking shop with her goodbye for now. “You know I meant before that…”

“Ceramics artist, working from home.”

“Bet it was useful, having someone who could literally hand-fire all of your pieces,” Lightning said airily, a smug grin on his face. Yuri eyed him suspiciously. “Is that why you kept him around?”

Judging by her stony silence, his joke didn’t land. “O-kay, clearly wasn’t that… What about giving your ‘lover’ a vessel?”

The only things keeping Yuri Egin from vaulting over the table and clobbering Lightning senseless were the handcuffs attaching her to the interrogation table. She sat shaking with fury instead, seething, killing Lewin over and over in her mind. “What kind of mother do you think I _am_?!”

“The kind that bears Satan’s children to appease him,” Lightning said coolly. He was all business now; any hint of humor had been wiped off his face, leaving only a steely, piercing gaze. Even longer than he’d been studying demons, he’d studied humans. People rarely became so outraged at accusations that didn’t have a hint of truth. “Have you had any contact with Satan in the last sixteen years, willing or otherwise?”

“No,” Yuri said, a thread of steel in her voice. Lewin believed her. “I did everything I could to avoid attracting attention. I wanted them to have lives free of this mess.”

Lewin averted his eyes, shuffled his notes a bit. Yuri was an intelligent woman; she had to have known keeping the two boys uninvolved would be impossible, given their heritage. But denial was a powerful drug. “Why did you involve the Paladin, if you were so determined to keep them separate from all of this?”

“I handled things alone for eighteen months and nearly lost my mind,” she confessed. “Shirou discovered us by chance. We were friends long before either of us became Exorcists, and I trust him more than anyone else.” Was that a slight flush in her cheeks? Interesting… Maybe the rumors about the Paladin’s romantic involvement with Egin weren’t entirely baseless.

Still, relationship gossip wasn’t the point of this interview. “Tell me more about your sons,” Lightning continued. “How much do they take after their father?”

“I know you ran genetic tests. You should know exactly how much they take after him,” Yuri said, leaning back in her chair.

Lewin waved his hand dismissively. “Sure, I know the percentages, but the medical stuff doesn’t give me a detailed list of who got what outside of the looks department,” he said airily. “I mean, I could judge the books by their covers and take a few wild stabs…”

Yuri’s eyes narrowed. “Neither of them inherited Satan’s personality, if that’s what you’re implying,” she said curtly. “They’re each their own person.”

Lewin barreled on, towards the line of questioning they both expected. “What about Rin? Seems to take after his father in a lot of other ways,” he said, willfully ignoring Yuri’s darkening expression. “No outbursts of temper, violent rages, homicidal urges?”

“Did you even read the arrest report? No casualties. The only one injured was Rin,” Yuri retorted. The anger and outrage was back in full force. “Those exorcists gave him plenty of good reasons to attack them, and he refused to even after they shot him twice. What about that says ‘homicidal’ to you?”

_Alright, excuse me for doing my job_ , Lewin thought to himself, somewhat annoyed. Tempers ran on both sides of the twins’ family, it seemed. With that in mind, it was even more of a marvel how the demon boy had restrained himself during the arrest. “It’s my job to ask these questions, ma’am.” Being reamed like this was really bringing out his inner Polite Texan Boy…As was the fact that he wasn’t allowed to lay a finger on her. The Order insisted he draw out her answers with honey, not vinegar. (They didn’t have the same restriction for the demon boy, curiously enough.) “How’s his control of the flames?”

“He’s never burnt anyone unprovoked,” she said.

Lewin raised a brow; the specificity of her statement was a little worrying. “So he _has_ burnt someone,” he stated.

His question didn’t have the effect Lewin was expecting. Instead of looking angry or afraid, Yuri looked surprised. She nearly opened her mouth as if to say something before clearly thinking better of it. “When the twins were born, I… wasn’t in my right mind,” she declared after a few moments of rumination. “I don’t remember it very well. I… I remember blue flames, but they may have been Satan’s.” Yuri paused before continuing, much more sure of herself. “They were Satan’s.”

Something very strange was going on, even stranger than the situation itself warranted. Lewin would bet all of his contracted familiars that Yuri was hiding something from him. It nearly felt as if she’d expected him to know something he didn’t and she was taking advantage of that fact; the thought made his blood rise. Whatever secret she was keeping, it had to be in one of the missing sections of the files he’d been given.  
Lightning considered the possibility that Yuri herself had stolen sections of the files before immediately dismissing it. If she’d taken them, she wouldn’t have been surprised by the lack of knowledge. So it had to be somebody else— Fujimoto, probably. Lewin would need to comb the monastery once more, then get the answers out of the Paladin by any means necessary.

There was so much more he wanted to ask her—about Yukio, her relationship to the Paladin, the Blue Night—but he had a limited amount of time for this investigation, and three more people to interview. And a monastery to search again. “Well, I think that’s all I’ll need from you today,” he said casually.

* * *

Lightning sent his familiars ahead of time, so the monastery was in total chaos by the time the Arc Knight came on to the scene. Sheets of paper flew around the room, joining the piles that had collected on the hardwood floors; his sylphs, unable to find what they’d been commanded to retrieve, were clearly taking their frustrations out on every paper product they could find. It was one of the funniest things Lewin had seen in a long time, but the priests were not as amused.

“It’s rude to exorcise someone else’s familiars, you know,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants. “ _Mortem_.” The sylphs whirling around the room dissolved with tiny, high-pitched shrieks. The Paladin himself stormed into the room, causing Lewin to grin widely.

“Lightning, what is the meaning of this?!”

“I sent them to find the records you’re hiding, that’s all,” Lewin responded, shrugging. He surreptitiously thumbed the ‘record’ button on the recorder hiding in a pocket of his cargo shorts. “And I’d like to ask you some questions, since I’m here.”

The latter part of Lewin’s statement went ignored. “What the fuck are you talking about? What records?!”

Lewin rolled his eyes. “Don’t play stupid, Fujimoto. The records missing from the Order’s files? The _birth records_?”

Shirou stared in disbelief for a few moments before letting out a resigned groan, dragging his hands over his face. “Should have known I’d get blamed for this,” he muttered under his breath. Standing up a little straighter, he withdrew his hands from his face. “I don’t know where they are, okay? I first went looking for them thirteen years ago, and they were already gone back then.”

“If you didn’t get rid of them, who did?” Lewin was also wondering why he started searching thirteen years ago and not earlier, but that was a question for later.

“If I knew, I’d have the damn files,” Shirou explained slowly through grit teeth. “I wanted to know about the birth just as much as you do.”

Things were getting more confusing by the minute. “Wait, wait,” Lewin said, holding up a hand. “Wanted to know? Weren’t you there?”

“I’d been sent to get a sword to kill the twins by the Chairman,” Shirou replied. “By the time I came back, I was told the twins had died and Yuri went to her cabin to recover. We were all too distracted with the other shit going on to check any of that until more than a year later.”

The lack of any kind of fact-checking appalled Lighting, but he wasn’t surprised when he recalled how chaotic the Order had been back then. Lewin’s first Meister had been received in the aftermath of the Blue Night, and the sudden scarcity of Exorcists had sent everyone scrambling. The newly chosen Paladin had probably been too busy adjusting to his role and maintaining order to even think about his old friend.  
When Lightning really thought about it, there was only one person who could have the pilfered files— Mephisto. Unfortunately, the damn demon was untouchable. Even if Lewin somehow managed to get permission to interrogate, he doubted Samael would volunteer any sort of valuable information. He wouldn’t find those files in a million years, that was for sure; Lewin was willing to bet his soul Mephisto was hiding everything in some inaccessible pocket dimension.

Better to focus on information he could actually get for now. “When you checked on Yuri more than a year later, what did you find?”

“I found her struggling alone with the twins,” Shirou said. “It would’ve been hard enough if the twins were fully human, but Rin’s situation complicated everything.”

“So you stepped in to help,” Lewin inferred. This wasn’t exactly the route he’d hoped his line of questioning would take, but Lightning decided to go with it.

Fujimoto nodded. “It wasn’t much, honestly,” he said with a shrug. “She used familiars to babysit most of the time. But I’d come over to help out, bring groceries when I could.”

“That’s nice,” Lightning said mechanically. Bored with the domesticity of the Paladin’s answers, he followed immediately with the question, “What were your initial impressions of the demon kid’s flames?”

Shirou leaned back, resting his elbows on the counter. “Honestly? Rin scared me shitless at first,” he said with a small chuckle, as if laughing at an inside joke. “Just seeing those flames on a toddler made me sick. But even as a little kid, his control was flawless. Yuri taught him not to burn or hurt humans before he could even talk, and it stuck.”

“In your professional opinion, what should the Order do with Egin Rin?”

“Don’t execute him, that’s for sure,” Shirou said. He rummaged around in a pocket of his cassock for cigarettes, pulling out a pack triumphantly and placing a cigarette between his lips. “I’m not sure how suited he’d be to Exorcist work, but killing someone so powerful who loves humanity would be a waste.” He lit the cigarette and took a long drag. “If you could manage to actually destroy him, that is. He’s a strong regenerator. At least on par with a Hydra, if not better. I might have been able to manage neutralizing him when he was small, but now?” Fujimoto laughed. Smoke curled out his mouth from somewhere deep in his lungs. “I think the only ones who could manage to kill him are the Demon Kings and Satan.”

“We’ve got a Demon King at our disposal,” Lewin reminded Shirou. The older man made a face.

“You really think Mephisto is gonna put an end to something this entertaining for him?”

Shirou had him there. He knew the King of Time much better than Lewin himself did, and both of them knew everything about this situation amused him to no end. Lewin had his suspicions that Samael had facilitated everything— but, of course, he had no evidence. And he doubted Fujimoto would be careless enough to give him any.   
Lewin also doubted he was going to get much more information from this interview. It was time for him to meet Rin Egin for himself and see whether Egin’s and Fujimoto’s assessments were accurate.

Lightning straightened up, adjusting his bucket hat. “That’s all I’ve got. See you at the hearings.”

* * *

To interview Rin Egin, the Grigori had insisted Lewin use one of their demon-proof interrogation rooms. He hated the large, bare rooms, but the sheer convenience of them was nice; instead of searching for a room in the Vatican’s labyrinthine depths, he simply stuck a key in his office door and found himself in the room they’d thrown the demon kid in.

When Lewin entered, the boy was sitting with his back against the corner furthest from the door. His flames were suppressed, much to Lewin’s disappointment; instead he eyed the newcomer warily, looking suspiciously more human than the initial paperwork had suggested. Was he capable of glamouring himself? It was an impressive skill for a demon so young and so powerful to have.

“The name’s Lewin Light. Nice to meet ya,” he said as he strolled further into the room. The demon eyed his every step warily. Eyes were usually the most difficult demonic aspect to hide, and Rin was no exception to this rule; they were strikingly inhuman in an otherwise mundane face. “And you’re Rin, right? I’ve been hearing a lot about you.” Lewin grinned, fingers wrapped through his belt loops.

Silence.

“Well, don’t go sayin’ everything all at once now…” Rin’s suspicious expression slowly tinged with bewilderment. “I’m not here to hurt you or anything, kid. I just wanna talk.”

“…Why?” It was only one word, barely loud enough for Lewin to hear, but it was something. He could work with that.

“Why? Not sure if you know this, but you’re all anyone is talking about right now,” Lewin said, taking a chance and squatting down right across from where the kid was sitting. “There are so many rumors flying around, I wanted to see the truth for myself. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to get a peek of those blue flames…”

Rin squirmed uncomfortably under Lightning’s intense gaze and looked away, curling in on himself. He shook his head.

“Aw, come on,” Lewin whined. “I won’t tell.” Why was Rin so hesitant? If he had his flames under control like everyone claimed, flashing his flames for a moment shouldn’t have been a big deal. “I don’t need a big show. I’d be happy with just a candle flame!”

“I’m not some sideshow!” Rin blurted— and regretted almost immediately. He flushed and his mouth snapped shut, as if he were determined to say nothing else after his outburst.

Lightning leaned in a little closer, his expression unreadable. Beads of sweat began to form on Rin’s forehead. “You’re right. You’re not a sideshow,” he conceded. His eyes flashed from underneath his bangs and bucket hat, boring into Rin’s own. Rin looked up, but met his eyes for only a moment before shrinking away once again. “You’re the main event. Show me the flames before I _make_ you.”

They’d cuffed him again for the interrogation, so Rin placed his linked hands in front of himself. A ball of blue flame appeared, about the size of one of his fists. He watched Lightning warily the entire time. Lewin was leaning close enough that he should have felt a considerable amount of heat, but there was only a faint warmth radiating from the ball of flame. How were the flames that could burn anything cooler than the average campfire?

“Are you controlling the heat, or are they always like that?” Lewin asked.

“I can control everything about them but the color,” Rin said sullenly, extinguishing the flame. He had no interest in explaining anything more than was absolutely necessary; Lightning wondered how many times Rin had tried to explain himself, only to be ignored and spoken over. “Even when they’re out all the way, they don’t burn anything unless I want them to.”

“Ever burned anyone?”

“No,” Rin said without a moment of hesitation. He extinguished the flames and Lewin leaned back again.

“You could, though. If you wanted to,” Lightning said.

The half-demon gnawed at his lower lip. “Yes,” Rin answered after a few moments of thought.

“Why don’t you?”

Rin looked at Lewin as if he’d grown a second head. “…I don’t like hurting people,” he said slowly and suspiciously, tensed as if he were expecting some kind of trick.

“Fair enough.” Lewin shrugged. Both of his previous interview subjects had been accurate in their characterizations, as far as Lewin could tell. Yuri had been right about his mind being human, which was disappointing to the Arc Knight. Demons were much easier to read and understand. In the same vein, Lightning understood why the Paladin doubted Rin’s capacity for Exorcist work; Exorcists had to have some level of bravado and ruthlessness, and this kid appeared to have none. Yuri had done with Rin what she’d failed to do with Satan— she’d Tamed the demon right out of him. “Okay, I have one last question,” he continued. He decided to be gracious for once and end on a softball question. “Did you glamour yourself for this?”

Rin’s deer-in-the-headlights expression told Lewin he’d guessed correctly. “…H-How’d you tell?”

“You don’t look like your description in the paperwork,” Lewin said simply. He grinned sharply at the son of Satan. “See you at the hearing!”

* * *

It was the middle of the day, meaning the dormitories at True Cross Academy were almost completely empty. The lobby of the New Boys’ Dorm contained only the poor intern serving as the front desk staff. The kid was out of high school, but still a kid. He munched on jerky while reading a book. He looked up and spotted Lewin approaching entirely by chance; he did all but toss the jerky and book over his shoulder, sitting up straight in his chair and looking very attentive.

“Can I help you?”

Lewin gave the kid a grin that was, admittedly, more creepy than ingratiating. “I’m here to interro— _interview_ one Okumura Yukio,” he said. The desk attendant gave Light a suspicious look; he opened his mouth to say something, Lewin pulled out his badge, and the kid’s mouth closed immediately. “He’s an incoming first year, so classes haven’t started for him yet. Do you know if he’s here?”

The kid nodded. “I know who you’re talking about, he’s new here,” he said, leaning back. “I can’t give you a key, but I can tell you he's living in room 302. As far as I know, he’s up there right now.”

Lewin made his way up to the room and knocked on the door. He usually preferred to simply barge in, but Mephisto insisted he couldn’t break down a door in a brand new dormitory for some reason. There was no response at first, so Lewin said, “I’m here on Order business, you’re going to have to let me in. Unless you want Mephisto to come open the door for me…”

_That_ got Okumura to open the door. He was taller than Lewin had expected; the kid was considerably taller than his twin, and had at least a foot on his mother. His height appeared to be the only thing not inherited from his mother. They had the same coloration, similar moles— they even glared at him in a similar way. “What do you want from me?” Yukio asked snappily.

“I’m just here to ask you a few questions. Mind if I come in?” Lewin said, using a tone that implied his ‘polite question’ was more like an order. Yukio glared and Lewin made himself at home, sinking into a desk chair. One half of the room was neatly organized, but clearly occupied; the other was totally empty. Was he waiting to be assigned a roommate for the year, or did he have some kind of optimistic delusion about his brother being released?

Yukio said impatiently, “How long is this going to take?”

“Why does it matter to you? It’s not like you have classes to go to right now,” Lewin said with his signature smirk. Yukio grit his teeth, then nodded after a long moment as if conceding his point. Lewin decided to continue talking. “So, could you tell me a bit about your childhood?”

“It was normal,” Yukio stated. “Completely normal.”

“We must have very different definitions of ‘normal’,” Lewin replied. For the first time, Lewin noted that Yukio’s Japanese wasn’t quite the Tokyo standard; he pronounced some words differently, in ways his mother and brother hadn’t. This probably wouldn’t have interested Lewin very much, if not for the fact his accent got stronger the more pissed off he got.

A minute, nearly imperceptible twitch had started at the corner of Yukio’s jaw. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it— but Lewin wasn’t most people. “We probably do,” Yukio said curtly. “I know my childhood was unusual to others, but it’s always been my normal.”

If Lighting wasn’t careful, the kid would steer this into a philosophical discussion. He decided to take a different tack. “How long have you been able to see demons?”

“Since I was born,” the boy said. “According to my mother, I liked to reach up at passing Coal Tar from my crib.”

Lewin couldn’t help but smile a little; his mother had shared similar memories. Of course, Lucia Light didn’t share the gift of a temptaint, so her stories revolved around Lewin’s worrying habit of giggling and reaching for thin air. “When did you first become aware that your brother was a demon?”

Yukio’s brow furrowed. “I’ve known that Nii-san and I are half-demons for as long as I can remember.” Lewin noted the boy’s careful word choice. The unspoken statement was subtle, but definitely there— _anything he is, I am too_. “I only became aware of how the world saw the both of us when I started going to school.”

Yukio must have thought he was playing hard to get, but Lewin could read the kid like a book. What was left unspoken and omitted nearly told Lewin more than the actual content of his statements. He’d suspected Rin was kept at home and Yukio had gone to actual classes, but confirmation was always nice to have.  
“Must have been difficult, keeping your brother secret.”

“It was for his safety,” Yukio said diplomatically. It was clearly a phrase that had come up several times in the twins’ lives.

_That sure worked out_ , Lewin wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. He could tell Yukio wasn’t the type to blurt things out as soon as he got angry; if Lewin pissed him off, the kid’s mouth would shut quicker than a bear trap. Lewin groaned inwardly. There was a reason his usual tactics involved pissing people off until they blurted something out, or torturing them until they squealed— he was good at those things. He had trouble appearing genuinely caring even when he _actually cared_.

“So you were never worried your brother could be a danger to others,” Lewin inferred.

Yukio snorted. “You clearly haven’t met him,” he said with a smirk. Lewin resisted the urge to sock the kid. Yukio was reminding Lightning a lot of himself— not in the endearing way, but in the ‘how did my parents not murder me’ way.

“I’ve met him, but I figured prison would put anyone on their best behavior,” Lewin said with artificial cheer. “Has he ever made you fear for your or anyone’s safety? Yes or no.”

“No.” Yukio answered immediately. His expression was just as stony and resolute as it’d been during the entire interview. While Rin had been silent out of fear, Yukio’s silence was one of pure defiance.

Lewin leaned back in his chair again, considered his options. The kid obviously wasn’t going to badmouth his brother, at least not intentionally. Still, there were ways to mess with these uptight, duty-bound types; years of being partnered with Angel had honed his skills.  
“Must be exciting, getting the chance to go to such a good high school,” Lightning said.

Yukio looked at him blankly. “I would rather be with my family.”

“Yeah, I got that much,” Lightning said, sighing. “But I’ve seen your transcripts and test scores, Okumura. Going to True Cross Academy is the best chance you’ve had for your potential in your entire academic career. Or were you looking forward to attending some mediocre college, and settling down in some dead-end job in the boonies?”

Yukio glared. “What does it matter to you? I don’t understand why you’re bringing this up.”

“I wanted to see where your priorities lie,” Lewin replied. He decided not to press any further; Yukio’s deflection told him everything he needed to know. Lightning knew his type all too well— high-achieving, driven, yet devoted to his family to the point where true ambition felt like betrayal. He’d gone into this interview not expecting much, but Lewin found the human twin just as fascinating a subject as his demonic counterpart. Possibly more interesting, depending on how things developed. “Ever been on a plane, Okumura?”

“No…” The kid blinked at him, bewildered by the sudden change of subject.

Lewin stood up, futilely dusting dirt off his poncho. Just before leaving, he turned back to address Yukio. “Every time you go on one of ‘em, they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before helping anyone else. I think it’s good advice.”


	4. Omission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an academy full of strangers, Yukio has never felt more alone.

There was no feeling Yukio hated more than not knowing.

Until recently, it had been an unfamiliar sensation to him. He was a keen, observant boy, and even when the adults in his life attempted to be secretive, he could often figure out bits and pieces when people underestimated him or slipped up.  
Of course, it was impossible to glean any kind of information from radio silence— which was exactly what he’d been experiencing ever since his family’s arrest. None of the Exorcists bothered to tell him anything about what was going to happen to his family, and Father Fujimoto was apparently limited from contacting him. He visited his mother and brother regularly, but neither of them were in any state to give him much information.   
Nii-san was literally and figuratively kept in the dark. He knew even less than Yukio; days Yukio didn’t visit were often days nobody spoke to Rin. It was inhumane as far as Yukio was concerned— but the Order seemed to think only humans had the right to humane treatment. Although their mother was also imprisoned and kept in a solitary cell, the conditions were nowhere near as bad as Rin’s. Unlike Rin, she had a bed with sheets, a light she could turn on and off, and plenty of guards and visitors willing to hold basic conversations with her.

His mother put on a good act for Yukio, but he could tell that she was suffering all the same. Yuri Egin had always been a free spirit, and she didn’t take well to any sort of confinement. The only thing that bothered her more was Rin’s imprisonment. Every visit, she fussed over Yukio and inevitably requested being allowed to visit Rin— a mirror image of Yukio’s visits with Rin, who fussed over his brother and requested to see their mother. In both cases, every time, Yukio would propose the idea to the wardens and be shot down. It was too dangerous, they argued, having the entire Egin family in one place. They could plan something.  
Plan what, a prison break? Yukio had to laugh. The only thing keeping Nii-san in place was his own sense of morals. If he were merciless and bloodthirsty like their father, if Rin was _actually_ the monster they feared him to be, neither Yukio’s brother nor mother would be in prison in the first place. Rin would have simply murdered the Exorcists who had raided their home before they ever had the chance to capture him. Sometimes Yukio wondered if that wouldn’t have been preferable, but he felt guilty for entertaining such a thought. It wasn’t good to wish for anyone’s death— and the thought of Rin having those deaths on his conscience was even worse.

When he wasn’t visiting his family, Yukio studied. True Cross Academy had worked out some sort of arrangement with his junior high to allow him to finish his last semester’s classwork remotely. When he finished in record time, he got started on looking at his high school textbooks. He knew he should have felt some sense of accomplishment for finishing junior high early, or proud that he’d been placed in the most advanced freshman class… but it all felt hollow without his family there. Even with the visits twice a week, he felt alone.

He was supposed to visit today, but this morning he’d decided to try writing a letter to his friends at Tsukuba Junior High. It wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped. Explaining why he’d left suddenly halfway through the year was difficult; his brother’s exposure to the Order, instead of making things simpler, was only making the situation more complex. There was technically nothing keeping Yukio from telling his friends about his brother… except for how upset they’d be that he’d kept his twin a secret from them. As horrible as it made him feel, it was easier to just keep lying.

_Sumida-san and Kaneda-san,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I’m sorry for leaving school without an explanation or warning, I know that must have worried you both. My mother got very ill suddenly, and she’s currently in a hospital in Tokyo_

Yukio put the pen down, a pit forming in his stomach. He hated how easily the lie had come to him. He’d lied plenty of times over the years, but pretending his mother was in the hospital was a new low.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by the sound of a key in the lock. Yukio stiffened in his chair, turning around to face the door hesitantly. Was it that Lightning man again? Or worse, Mephisto?

The door slowly opened to reveal a boy about his age, with a smattering of ear piercings and a cock’s comb of bleached hair. Yukio relaxed back in his chair, smiling amiably. “I forgot it was move-in day for the rest of the students,” he said warmly, standing up from his chair. “I’m Okumura Yukio, nice to meet you.”

“Suguro Ryuji. Nice to meet you, too,” the other teenager said. His voice was low and gruff, but friendly. He walked in, setting down the box he’d been carrying on his desk. “I guess we’re roommates, huh? What class are you in?”

Just as Yukio was about to answer, a short boy with a shaved head poked his head into the room. “Are you sure you don’t need any help moving, Bon? Shima and I are nearly done— “

“I’ll be fine, Koneko,” Suguro said quickly, waving his hand. “Go focus on your room!” Koneko left, and Ryuji sighed heavily before turning back to look at Yukio. “Anyways, what class did you say you were in?”

“1-A. Was that your brother?”

Suguro grinned, continuing to haul boxes and a large suitcase into the room. “Oh hey, I’m in 1-A, too! Konekomaru’s not technically my brother, but we grew up together. He and my other friend Shima are probably going to be over here a lot, if that’s alright with you.”

Yukio shrugged. It would be good to meet new people, right? “As long as you don’t stay up all night, I don’t mind at all.”

Ryuji snorted and shook his head. “No worries there.”

As if on cue, Konekomaru and a guy who must have been Shima entered the room shortly thereafter. Yukio tried not to stare at his pink hair, but it was still a shocking thing to see on a student; he would have to get used to True Cross Academy’s notoriously forgiving dress code. At his old middle school, someone with pink hair or a bleached stripe would have been sent home with a box of black dye.

“Guys, I told you I didn’t need any help,” sighed Suguro.

“We got done with moving our things in and wanted to see how you were doing,” Konekomaru said, looking pointedly at the collection of sealed cardboard boxes that had accumulated on Suguro’s side of the room. “Isn’t that right, Shima?” Shima, who had previously been staring off into space, jumped a little and gave a small grunt of agreement. It was only a few moments later that Konekomaru seemed to realize the trio wasn’t alone in the room.  
“Oh, hello!” The boy blustered, flushing a little from embarrassment. “You must be Bon’s roommate. I apologize for not introducing myself, I’m Miwa—”

“Konekomaru, right?” Yukio said warmly, despite his discomfort with the situation he found himself in. He couldn’t help but feel out of place, the stranger in a group of very close friends. “Suguro-san was telling me about you both. Good things, of course.” He gave a disarming smile. “I’m Okumura Yukio, it’s nice to meet you both.”

The pink haired boy raised an eyebrow. “Really? Good things about _me_? I’m shocked,” he said. Yukio couldn’t tell if he was being facetious. “Shima Renzou, but I guess you already knew that.” Their eyes met, and Yukio was surprised by the sharpness of the brown eyes beneath those heavy lids. Renzou’s eyes darted to the desk immediately behind Yukio, finally landing on the letter currently open on his desk. “Whatcha writing?”

“Shima, that’s rude!” Konekomaru said sternly, halfheartedly swatting the taller boy’s arm. “Don’t feel like you have to answer him, Okumura-kun…”

Shima’s sharp eye put Yukio on edge, but he couldn’t place why; he seemed like a relatively normal, harmless teenager otherwise, just like his two friends. “It’s alright. I was just writing a letter to my friends back in Tsukuba.”

Ryuji, who had previously been focused on unpacking a box, looked over at Yukio. Konekomaru seemed similarly interested. Was Tsukuba really so interesting? Yukio had been under the impression the relatively rural area would be boring to the people at this school. Most, if not all, came from major cities in Japan and around the world. “You’re from Tsukuba? Have you been to the Ushiku Daibutsu?” Suguro asked.

_The gigantic Buddha?_ He was too distracted by their interest in the minor tourist attraction to explain he wasn’t technically from Tsukuba. “I think I might have gone on a middle school trip to visit it once,” Yukio said, scratching his head. Spotting the rosary beads dangling on Suguro’s wrist, he suddenly understood their interest. “Where are you all from?”

“Kyoto,” Suguro said.

Yukio wondered what had brought them to this city in Tokyo. Kyoto was a city with no shortage of good schools. And what were the chances of all three of them getting into True Cross Academy? Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Yukio’s eye caught the clock on the wall and he jumped out of his chair. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I’m late to meet with my family,” he said, all but rushing out the door. “It was nice to meet you all!”

Shima waited until Yukio was well out of earshot to say, “It must be visiting hours at the hospital.” His best friends looked over at him, bewildered. Renzou shrugged. “What? The letter said his mom’s in there,” he explained.

Konekomaru’s ears flushed bright pink. “You really shouldn’t snoop, Shima!” Renzou, as always, appeared unaffected by Konekomaru’s stern words. Miwa sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “It certainly explains why he jumped up like that… must be difficult.”

“They probably moved him in early so he could be closer to whatever hospital his mom is in,” Suguro said, glancing over at Okumura’s desk solemnly. “Poor guy.”

* * *

Yukio made his way down an opulent, white corridor. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door that seemed entirely out of place; in comparison to the rest of the shining, polished hall, it was decrepit with age and neglect. The door led directly into a set of stone stairs descending below the True Cross Headquarters, dimly lit by sconces on walls also hewn from stone. It looked like some sort of medieval dungeon… in fact, Yukio was quite sure it was a medieval dungeon.

By the time he reached the bottom, the exertion and cold air dank with mold had caused his throat to tighten considerably. He fumbled for the rescue inhaler in his pocket; Yukio had used it more often in the last few weeks than he had in the past year. He couldn’t tell what had affected his lungs more— the polluted city air or the stress of his family’s imprisonment. He proceeded onwards slowly, being careful to pace himself.

The dark, serpentine hallways were familiar to Yukio by now, as was the guard waiting at the end of the corridor. If he remembered correctly, this guard was the same one he’d seen when visiting his brother last week. Like many of the guards assigned to supervise Rin, he was large, muscular, and relatively emotionless. He usually liked Yukio well enough, but the guard’s expression was unusually somber today. Yukio’s heart sank.

“Sorry, Okumura, but you can’t see him today,” the guard said.

Yukio clenched his jaw. “Why? Did something happen?” If they had hurt his brother, or worse… his hand balled into a fist at his side.

“He’s at trial.”

Yukio felt as if the floor had dropped out underneath him. “What do you _mean_ , he’s at trial?!” They had all known the trial was coming, but he’d expected a few days warning at least. “Take me to the courtroom, or hearing room, or wherever the hell this is being held,” Yukio demanded.

“Only exorcists are allowed to see the proceedings. You’d be turned away at the door.”

The regret and pity was clear on the guard’s face, but seeing it only made Yukio angrier. His fury was a white star pulsing in his gut; Yukio’s hearing filled with the roaring whoosh of his own blood. Even with his rescue inhaler still at work, he found it difficult to take enough air in. The urge to wind up his arm and sock the muscle-bound guard was nearly overwhelming, but Yukio (barely) managed to contain himself. The last thing his family needed was for him to be behind bars, too.  
Instead, Yukio gave the guard a venomous glare, turned on his heel, and made his way back to the dorms. He knew his new roommate would wonder why he was so angry and couldn’t bring himself to care. Suguro could think whatever he wanted. He’d spent so much of his life building up a facade, keeping meticulous secrets, and for what? It obviously still wasn’t safe to let anyone know about his parentage, but hiding his anguish didn’t protect his family anymore. Yukio stormed into his dorm room, shutting the door with a loud bang.

Suguro and his two friends happened to be in the room. All three looked up at the noise, alarmed. Upon seeing the expression on Yukio’s face, they shared a worried glance.

“Uh… what’s wrong, Okumura-kun?” Konekomaru asked anxiously.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Yukio shucked off his shoes, sat down at his desk, and began to bounce his leg vigorously.

After a few moments of silence, Suguro awkwardly offered, “You can talk to us about it, if you want.”

Yukio barked out a laugh and shook his head. “I really don’t think talking about it will help,” he said. Not with three strangers, at least. Everyone he wanted to talk to was probably in that damn courtroom. He'd have to calm down if he wanted to stop attracting these awkward questions. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

The Kyoto Trio exchanged a look once again. Konekomaru was the first to speak up. “…Did something happen with your mother?” He said timidly.

“My mother?” Where had that idea come from? Yukio’s eyes happened to fall on the note in front of him, and he understood. “You read my letter.” It wasn’t a question; given the facts, there was no other conclusion to draw. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry— not with them, at least. Yukio was the one who had left the note out for anyone to read. They’d probably been able to do it without even touching the letter. Of course, their nosiness meant he’d walked himself into yet another lie. He would never stop lying to people, it seemed. Even the most intricate lies were simpler than the true explanation.  
“Things are getting worse,” he said, purposefully vague. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen.” Yukio felt a little less guilty making statements that were technically true.

Seeing Suguro and his friends give him looks of sympathy and pity was still a punch in the gut. If they knew the full situation, he knew they certainly wouldn’t be as understanding. Nobody would.

“Things’ll turn out all right,” Suguro said reassuringly.

_No, they won’t_. Whatever the outcome of this trial, things hadn’t been ‘all right’ for a while now. But they didn’t need to know that. He'd already revealed enough to these strangers.

Yukio’s lips turned upwards into a small, superficial smile. “I sure hope so.”


	5. Trial by Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unbeknownst to anyone but the Grigori, the day of Rin's trial finally arrives.

The morning of Rin’s trial started off like any other. Well, it didn’t really start— everything in the prison seemed to blend together into one dreamlike mess. Morning, by Rin’s definition, was when the new guards coming in carried coffee and he got served whatever yellow mush passed for eggs in this place. He was rarely hungry anymore, but he forced himself to eat at least a little at each meal.

The door swung open while Rin was occupied with his breakfast. Rin looked up, shocked to find a man he’d never seen before. He certainly wasn’t one of the guards, and wore a bright white, ornate jacket that nearly brushed the filthy floor. He couldn’t help but stare at this stranger; Rin had never seen a man with such long, golden hair. The massive sword at his hip was even more of a shock— the sight of it made Rin’s blood run cold. It looked like the type of sword meant to chop someone’s head clean off. Was this man here to kill him? Rin scooted backwards until his back was against the wall, shaking.

The man sneered as he walked towards Rin. “I’ve been sent to take you to your trial,” he said, in shockingly perfect Japanese. “Are you going to accept your fate like a man, or cower there like the beast you are?”

“M-My trial? I thought—“ What had made Rin think they would give him any warning, again? It seemed silly to expect any sort of consideration from the Order at this point. He was just lucky they hadn’t killed him outright yet. “Never mind.” Rin pushed himself to his feet, and found he had to lean against the wall for a few seconds afterwards. He couldn’t recall when he’d last stood up. He stumbled over to where the blond man was waiting, watching Rin attentively with poorly hidden disgust.

They only had to walk towards the end of the hall Rin’s prison cell was located in to find a door with a usable keyhole. The blond man (who still hadn’t introduced himself) found a slim, golden key, turned it in the lock, and then shoved Rin through.

Rin found himself in a massive room that looked and felt like one of those ancient arenas he’d seen in movies— the kind that people usually got thrown into with a lion. There were crowds of people on all sides spectating from above. Most of the people were clad in the black uniforms of rank-and-file exorcists, but at the front of the chamber stood three ornately robed and veiled figures that Rin guessed were his judges. Rin felt cold and very sweaty; he’d been completely alone not even ten minutes ago, and now hundreds of people were staring directly at him. 

“Take the glamour off,” The blond man hissed in Rin’s ear. “Don’t try to deceive them, demon. Let them see you for the monster you are.”

Rin could feel himself shaking so hard that his shackles and chains rattled, the sound echoing through the cavernous chamber. He’d never gone without his glamour with so many eyes on him before; it felt like stripping himself naked in front of a crowd of strangers. They all knew what he was, why couldn’t he cling to what little bits of humanity he still had left?

“Didn’t you hear me? Drop it!” The man reached underneath his shirt and tugged hard at the base of Rin’s tail. Rin let out a bloodcurdling shriek and fell to the ground in pain, forgetting his glamour completely. He was too distracted to notice the room’s collective gasp, or the dirty looks plenty of spectators were shooting him. The blond man wiped his hand on impeccably white trousers.

The man in white stepped forward and bent the knee. “I, Arc Knight and Acting Paladin Arthur Auguste Angel, present to the Grigori the spawn of Satan in its natural form.” With a name like Angel, Rin supposed it made sense that he hated demons so much.

“We appreciate your assistance, Acting Paladin Angel. Now that all parties are present, the trial may begin,” one of the judges boomed from above. _All parties?_ Did that mean his family was here? “Arc Knight Lewin Light, please summarize the findings of your investigation.”

From his spot on the floor, Rin spotted the smelly man who had interviewed him before. He was standing next to a table with a speaker on it. His back was turned to Rin, and he was looking up at the three cloaked figures on the balcony. Rin continued looking around the room and managed to find both his mother and Father Fujimoto standing in one of the hallways leading to the court floor. Ma looked positively sick with worry; there was nothing Rin wanted more than to run into her arms this very instant. 

He was jarred out of his thoughts by a white boot to his side and a hissed, “Pay attention, insolent demon!” Rin looked back over at whoever this Lewin Light person was.

“I’ll let the Paladin summarize my opening statement,” Lewin said, pressing the play button with an audible click.

 “ _Honestly? Rin scared me shitless at first,_ ” Shirou’s voice echoed from the speakers. “ _But even as a little kid, his control was flawless… Killing someone so powerful who loves humanity would be a waste._ ”

The words were technically a compliment and certainly helped Rin’s chances, but the boy felt like he’d been punched in the gut nonetheless. Plenty of people were afraid of the mere idea of him, but he’d never considered that his own uncle might have been one of those people at some point. The way Shirou talked to this man about Rin was so practical, as if he was trying to distance himself from Rin in any way he could. On instinct, Rin looked over to where his mother and uncle were standing for reassurance; Father Fujimoto’s face was blank, eyes never leaving the ground. Was this what he still thought? Rin’s mother was tense beside him.

With another click, the recording ended. Lewin continued, “Egin Rin is undeniably the son of Satan, and inherited his flames. But it’s my opinion that he’s more likely to be useful than harmful. I wasn’t able to find any clear, concrete evidence of him ever harming humans— and trust me, I looked.”

“How would he be useful?” One of the judges asked.

“Those flames of his would be handy for exorcism, for one thing,” Lewin said. “Though I’ve been told he’s not one for fighting. Fair enough. There’s still plenty we can learn from studying his flames. The safe, controlled access he would provide could be invaluable for research.”

He didn’t like the idea of becoming an exorcist at all, but possibly being used for research made Rin’s blood run cold. His only experience with anything resembling research had been the doctors who’d poked and prodded him when he was first captured— something he never wanted to experience ever again. Rin would rather be executed than let strangers inspect him and run tests on him day in and day out for years on end. Judging by the pale expressions of his mother and uncle, they weren’t fans of the idea either.

“What makes you so sure that he is safe?” Another judge said skeptically.

“I convinced him to show me the blue flames,” Lewin announced proudly, setting off a round of mutters throughout the room. “They weren’t even hot! He has incredible control.”

Judging by the cacophony of voices that suddenly filled the room, nobody believed Lightning— not even the Grigori, who had been listening attentively before. Their trust of the Arc Knight and his judgment only went so far, apparently.

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you right here,” Lightning announced, walking over to where Rin was kneeling. Rin had been convinced Light had disliked him during their first meeting, but now he seemed to be trying everything he could to save the demon boy. Had something changed? Or did Lightning simply resent his observations and judgment being called into question?

Rin heard Angel whisper in a hushed tone to Lightning, “Are you _insane_?”

Lewin Light winked and squatted down next to Rin. “Kid, can you set me on fire without killing me?” His words were directed not only at Rin, but the entire room; predictably, the heated conversations going on throughout the area grew even louder.

Rin could do little more than gape blankly at him for a few moments. Angel was right; this man was clearly insane. “If I try, they’ll kill _me_ ,” he said. Even if they didn’t, the last thing he wanted was to show a group of strange Exorcists his flames. No matter how well he controlled them, they’d only react with disgust and horror.

Lewin stood back up, dusting off his grimy poncho as he faced the Grigori once again. “Egin Rin is gonna set me on fire, but y’all have to promise not to kill him unless I die,” Lewin announced. The noise level in the courtroom was nearly unbearable at this point; Rin winced and curled in on himself, trying in vain to cover his ears without the use of his hands.

“SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!” A booming, deep voice announced from the Grigori’s balcony.

The middle Grigori spoke again to Lewin. “You’re placing a remarkable amount of trust in this demon, Lewin Light, even for a Tamer such as yourself.”

“I know,” he said cheerily, grinning. “But you must be just as curious as I am to see what will happen, right?”

The heavily robed figures turned to each other, consulting silently for a few moments. “Very well. Proceed,” the middle judge said.

Lewin Light planted his feet a bit more steadily, and Rin took a deep breath. He sat up as straight as he thought Angel would allow, reaching into the warmth in his chest he’d been suppressing since his capture.  
At first, Rin feared his flames would burst out of him like a shaken can of soda. He’d never gone so long without releasing them in his life; although they felt more intense than usual, he was able to keep them internalized and draw out only what he needed with moderate effort. He directed his gaze at Lewin Light, the glow in his eyes intensified, and the Arc Knight burst into flame. The entire crowd seemed to gasp at once, and Rin heard more than one person scream at the sight of Lightning on fire.

...Except he wasn’t _really_ on fire. Rin’s flames surrounded his entire body, but they weren’t burning anything; as promised, they weren’t even hot. Lewin flung his arms out and cackled madly with delight. Several faces in the crowd morphed from expressions of horror to morbid curiosity. 

“See? I told you!” Lewin cried out, vindicated. Rin was more than a little uncomfortable with how good of a time Lightning seemed to be having.

The Grigori members seemed to share his sentiment. “We’ve seen quite enough,” the one right of center said, shifting uncomfortably in their ornate seat. Rin clamped down on his flames and they sputtered out immediately.

“You’ve proved your point, Arc Knight Light,” the middle Grigori said, turning their gaze to Rin once again. “What do you have to say for yourself, Spawn of Satan?”

It took Rin a moment or two to realize he was being addressed. He honestly hadn’t been expecting to be admitted to speak.What was there for him to say? It wasn’t as if he had any choice in his fate. “I’m not my father. I’ve never hurt a human.” His throat felt very dry, and his voice sounded strange to his ears. When was the last time Rin had spoken more than a phrase or two aloud? “I just want to be with my family, n-not in a prison or a lab. If I have to be an exorcist, I’ll do it.” 

“That’s hardly a good motivation for becoming an exorcist,” Angel protested, looking up at the Grigori. “If you allow it to live, it will turn on us the second it has an opportunity.”

“I’ll make a vow! I’ll sign a contract,” Rin blurted desperately. “I know I’ll never join my father, but I’ll sign anything you want me to.”

Both Ma and Uncle Shirou looked horrified, but the Grigori was appeased. After several minutes of deliberation, the member in the middle was the one to deliver the verdict. “Provided the Son of Satan passes the Exorcist Exam and serves the Order in perpetuity, we will stay his order of execution. While he is preparing to take the exam, his exorcism education and general welfare will be overseen by Honorary Knight Mephisto Pheles and Fujimoto Shirou.” The room filled with furious muttering again. “However! If he shows signs of disloyalty or loses control, he shall be exorcised immediately.  
“This hearing is adjourned. Next, we shall determine sentencing for Egin Yuri and Fujimoto Shirou…”

Rin was roughly yanked upwards by the collar and practically dragged away from the courtroom by Arthur Auguste Angel. Tears came to his eyes, but he didn’t let them fall; he wanted to cry and beg to stay and see what would become of his family, but there was no point showing weakness in front of someone who would never sympathize with a (half) demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's looking like I'm able to put out a chapter at least once a month, which I'm really happy about! I hope you all enjoyed this one. I read all of the reviews, and I appreciate all of them so much! <3


	6. Sentence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A judgement is handed down to Yuri and Shirou, and everyone prepares for their new lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: this chapter and the next chapter mention weight loss and low body weight. This may also be mentioned in subsequent chapters in the story. The concept is not discussed in detail, but if mentions of weight are disturbing or triggering to you, please proceed with caution or consider skipping chapters with this warning. Stay safe out there, folks <3

All in all, things hadn’t turned out anywhere near as bad as Shirou had thought they would. Sure, he’d been stripped of his Paladin title, but that was to be expected; he’d been growing tired of all the work being the Paladin involved, anyways. Handing off the duty to some 30-something who took himself way too seriously was a relief at this point. Some part of him knew Angel’s zealotry would bite him in the ass someday, but he already had enough to think about without worrying about things further in the future. Although they were restricting Shirou from active duty missions for several months, he had his priestly duties and the Cram School to occupy his time again.  
Yuri had been released nearly immediately after the hearing and she was once again in the clothes she’d arrived in several months ago. The “house arrest” they’d put her on was little more than a slap on the wrist, all things considered; she wasn’t allowed to leave the True Cross area for a year without express permission, but that was nearly freedom compared to prison.

Rin, however, had to be released directly into Shirou and Yuri’s custody while Mephisto fucked off to who-knows-where to prepare wherever mother and son would live. The clothes Rin had arrived in were ruined, but Shirou had popped back to the monastery and gotten spare clothes.

When it came time for him to open the interrogation room where they were keeping Rin, Shirou hesitated. He felt Yuri’s hand lightly touch his upper arm.

“What’s wrong? Open the door,” she said. She was clearly anticipating reuniting with Rin; Shirou wished he could say the same. He hadn’t known his offhand comments would be used as court evidence, or that Rin would be so hurt by them. Watching Rin’s expression crumple while the recording played had been excruciating. Did he think Shirou truly thought of him as nothing more than a potential asset?  
There was no use hemming and hawing about it, Shirou resolved. It was better to walk in there, face whatever sadness, anger, or pain Rin felt towards him, and then get him and Yuri to their new place. Shirou slowly opened the massive door.

When he and Yuri stepped inside, they found Rin crouched in a corner and still shackled. He appeared to be in a staring contest with the new Paladin, who was eyeing him suspiciously from several meters away. Yuri rushed to Rin’s side almost immediately, distracting the boy and pulling him into her arms.

“What’s the meaning of this? Why the hell have you still got him shackled?” Shirou asked his replacement, unable to keep the anger from his voice entirely.

“I feared for my safety,” Arthur Auguste Angel proclaimed. “I was alone with it, anything could have happened if I took the shackles off.”

Shirou glanced over at Rin sobbing silently into his mother’s arms and scoffed. “ _Feared for your safety_. Is that why he was in a corner shivering? _You_ were afraid?” Shirou sighed. “Hand me the keys, I’ll do it myself.”

“No, I can certainly handle it,” Angel blustered, suddenly aware of the poor impression he was making on his predecessor.

“I’m pretty sure he’d prefer if I did it.”

“It’s not about what it prefers,” Angel said snidely, turning on his heel and walking towards Rin. The teenager looked up and froze like a deer in headlights when he saw Arthur Auguste Angel approaching. “I’m going to release your shackles now. Do not attack.”

“He was never going to attack you,” Yuri said, disgusted. Rin didn’t respond, only holding out his arms and legs to be released. The skin underneath his shackles was raw and blistered, and was healing at a much more sluggish rate than typical for Rin. Yuri shooed Angel away and beckoned Shirou towards them. Shirou crouched by her side, gently but quickly assessing Rin’s wounds. 

“The restraints they put you in must have been sacred metal,” Shirou said, unable to keep himself from wincing in sympathy. “They should heal, but they might scar.” Rin clenched and unclenched his fists over and over, looking down at his hands.

“My poor baby,” lamented Yuri. She hugged him tightly again. 

Rin readily accepted the hug, although he was careful not to let the raw skin on his wrists brush against his mother’s clothing when he returned the embrace. “It’s already starting to heal, Ma,” he reassured her. They truly were; the longer the shackles were off, the more Rin’s healing seemed to return to its usual incredible speed.

Another subject change was probably in order; Yuri could fuss over Rin all she wanted after they were moved into True Cross, but for now he needed to get dressed and be taken out of here. “I’ve got clothes here for you to change into,” Shirou said, rummaging around in the bag he’d brought. “They’re hand me downs from the other guys at the monastery, but I figured anything was better than what they’ve got you in right now.”

Rin nodded fervently. His current clothes were shapeless, uncomfortable, and dingy from being put through an industrial washer and dryer countless times. “Does he have to be in here while I change?” Rin mumbled, glancing over at Arthur Auguste Angel; he knew his mother and uncle would give him privacy, but he felt vulnerable changing in front of a stranger who disliked him so much.

Shirou turned towards the blond man. “I think we’ve got it handled here, Paladin Angel,” he said, somehow managing to keep most of the sarcasm out of his voice. “Thanks for your help, but I’m sure you’re busy.”

Reluctantly, Arthur Auguste Angel left. Rin changed quickly in the corner; they fit slightly better than the prison garb he’d been given, but were still large on the boy. Had Rin always been so thin? He had always been shorter and more slender than his twin, but imprisonment had made him absolutely scrawny. Shirou was sure he’d regain the weight with time and plenty of food, but right now it was genuinely distressing to see. Shirou could see that Yuri was concerned as well, but neither of them mentioned anything to Rin. Knowing him, any concern would only make him self-conscious— or worse, guilty.

“Alright, everyone ready to go see the new place?” Shirou asked, already pulling out his ring of keys and selecting a small silver key that looked as if it’d just been cut. He didn’t know precisely where it led yet, but Mephisto had assured him that it’d be set up to lead directly to where Rin and Yuri would be staying in True Cross.

Rin and Yuri nodded their agreement and followed to the nearest door with a keyhole. When Shirou opened the door next, the trio were met with an odd sight; the room was large and dimly lit, with a layout much like that of a dormitory common room. Behind a counter, a tall figure in white wearing a hideously frilly apron was dusting shelves.

“ _Guten Abend!_ ” Mephisto said, turning around to greet them. Shirou barely stifled a groan. “I was just finishing up some final details before you two moved in. This old place hasn’t been used in years, you know. It took quite a lot of work to make it habitable.”

Yuri peered around the room. “This looks like the dormitories we lived in during high school…”

“Close. This is the Old Boys’ Dormitory,” Mephisto said, coming out from behind the counter to join the others in the common area. He turned his attention to Rin, smiling a wide, sharklike grin. “We formally meet at last, Egin Rin.”

Rin, who had received enough attention today for the next century, had a facial expression not unlike a deer caught in the middle of a railroad crossing. “Nicetomeetyou,” he mumbled.

Mephisto frowned. “Come on now, you can muster up a bit more energy than that,” he said, unimpressed. “Did you leave your nerve in the courtroom?”

“With all due respect, sir, we’ve been through a lot today— Rin especially,” Yuri said, pulling Rin slightly closer to herself. “We really appreciate everything you’ve done, and getting all of this set up for us, but if there’s nothing else you need—”

“Not so fast, _Fräulein_ ,” Mephisto replied. With a puff of pink smoke, a scroll of parchment appeared in his hand. “There is something I need. I’ve been tasked with witnessing the signature of young Rin here on his previously agreed-upon contract.” He looked back over at Rin again. “What do you know about Tamer contracts?”

Rin recoiled. “I’m not a familiar,” he said, a little startled at how offended he was by the implications of such a contract. The mutual agreement like the one Uncle Shirou had with Kuro was admirable… but Rin was half human, with a human(ish) form. “Why can’t I sign whatever kind of contract you give humans?”

“The contracts we use on humans work by summoning a demon to kill them when the terms are violated,” Mephisto explained calmly. “I’m not sure what demons I trust other than myself to eliminate you if the need arises… so I’m handling it directly with this contract.” He gave Rin another sharp-toothed smile.

“I’m reading it over before he signs anything,” Yuri said, snatching the contract out of Mephisto’s hands.

“The terms are quite simple,” Mephisto said while she read, a little disgruntled. “Egin Rin must work for the Order, and only the Order, as an Exwire and later an Exorcist. He’s prohibited from harming any human unless otherwise instructed by a superior officer. And last but not least, he must control himself and his flames at all times. Any violations of any provision of this contract includes punishments up to and including immediate execution. Any questions?”

“If he can’t harm humans, what about self defense?” Shirou asked.

Mephisto waved a hand dismissively. “He’ll heal, won’t he? Or his superior officer will give him express permission.”

Yuri opened her mouth to angrily protest, but Rin’s hand gently brushing her arm stopped her. “He’s right, I will,” he said. “I wouldn’t defend myself by hurting a human, anyways.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” his mother said softly. She looked very sad, which confused Rin; anything was better than him harming humans, right? He’d worked so hard to be nothing like his father.

“So there are no objections?” Needled Mephisto. Yuri nodded reluctantly and Mephisto practically shoved the parchment and an unusually sharp quill into Rin’s hands. “You’ll need to sign it with your blood. Magical contracts, you know how these things are…”

Rin poked his thumb with a sharp inhale, drawing just enough blood to write 燐 where a signature was needed. He’d expected to feel different after signing, but little changed aside from the feeling of cool metal slipping around the base of his tail. It didn’t burn like the shackles, but Rin still reached behind himself, startled.

“It’s a tail ring. Your mother and uncle can explain to you how they work, I’m sure,” Mephisto said, taking the parchment back and rolling it up tightly before stowing it underneath his arm. He produced a sheet of regular printer paper that contained the exact same content, inexplicably typed instead of the formal handwriting of the original. He handed the paper to Yuri with a characteristic flourish. “Your copy. It’s been a pleasure, truly, but I’m a very busy being and I must be going. _Tschüs_ ~!”   
With that, the Demon King disappeared in a plume of purple smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Glad I get to put years of speaking German to use in this one, haha. I have another one lined up to come out relatively soon (as in, this month because it's like 75% written). Once again, thank you so much for all of your kudos and comments!


	7. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio is finally reunited with his family.

“…You alright, Okumura?”

Yukio’s attention jolted back into the room. “Huh?” He asked, uncharacteristically scatterbrained; he’d been waiting to hear about the results of the trial for what felt like an eternity. At first, Yukio had hoped for a call, but at this point he’d be grateful for a text. A smoke signal. _Anything_.

“You’ve been staring into space for the past 15 minutes, man,” Ryuji said, worried. “Do you wanna talk about whatever’s happening with your mom? Or at least take a walk to get your mind off things for a bit?”

“No, I’m waiting on a call,” Yukio said immediately, fiddling with his flip phone. It was the cheapest phone his mother could find back when he’d started middle school far from the forest, but it’d served him admirably. He was thankful classes didn’t start for a few more days; he had no issues breaking the rules and bringing a phone to class, but he doubted he’d be able to concentrate on any kind of schoolwork right now.

When the phone finally rang, Yukio’s heart seemed to skip a beat in his chest. He quickly fumbled with the phone, holding it to his ear with a trembling hand. 

“Yukio? It’s your uncle.  The trials are over. Mephisto put your mother and brother in the old boys’ dorm on campus. We’re all over there right now, getting them settled in,” Shirou’s voice said.

“I’m coming over,” Yukio said, standing up from his desk and closing the phone without so much as a goodbye. He left the room without saying a word to Suguro, or even explaining where he was going; the relief he felt knowing his mother and brother were both still alive had given him the sort of antsy feeling only relieved by walking. The abandoned dorm wasn’t the easiest to get to, but incredibly easy to spot; in a sea of recently renovated buildings, it was the only one that looked like a possible horror movie set. He was disappointed, but not shocked that his family had been placed there.

The door was unlocked when he arrived, and Yukio walked in without any pretense. His mother and brother were both right there, sitting on the crappy dorm couch near the entrance. Yukio was hardly a crybaby nowadays, but simply seeing his family together again and not behind bars nearly brought him to tears.

“Yukio!” Rin called out, looking happier than Yukio had seen him in months. He barreled into his brother, crushing the younger twin in a tight hug. In spite of his incredible strength, Rin looked smaller and more frail than Yukio had ever remembered him. His arms felt bony and sharp when wrapped around Yukio.

“Happy… to see you too… but… Nii-san, air,” he wheezed. Rin immediately loosened his embrace, looking up at Yukio apologetically. Yukio managed to breathe again and cut Rin off before he could apologize, smiling. “It’s fine. I’m fine, don’t worry.” Sore ribs were a small price to pay to see his brother smile again.

“I can’t remember the last time I got to actually hug you,” Rin said, still not letting go. Yukio didn’t complain. Without his brother and mother, Yukio had felt touch-starved these past few months; he couldn’t even imagine how bad it’d been for Rin. He’d always been much more physically affectionate. “Are you gonna come live here, too?” Rin asked.

That was a very good question. Yukio wouldn’t object, of course… but he wasn’t sure how he’d explain the sudden move to Suguro. Ryuji was intelligent and perceptive, and adding another lie to keep track of was liable to bring the entire house of cards down. All of this was assuming Mephisto would even allow the change.

“You’re probably not going to be able to move at this point. The less attention drawn here, the better,” Father Fujimoto said, speaking from the corner of the room. Yukio had been so focused on his mother and brother that the priest’s presence hadn’t fully registered before that moment.

Rin visibly deflated. “But he can still come visit, right?” He’d turned to look over at Uncle Shirou, but Yukio could practically feel the kicked-puppy look he was giving their uncle.

“Of course I’ll visit,” Yukio said, and Rin’s face lit up again. Rin finally detached himself from his twin, leading Yukio over to the couch where their mother was still sitting. Yuri stood up and hugged her younger son.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Yuri said warmly. Yukio didn’t respond, only holding his mother tighter; he suddenly found himself too choked up to even risk speaking aloud.  
His mother knew him too well. “It’s alright to cry, you know,” she said, tears in her own eyes. “You’ve been through a lot these past few months.”

Yukio could only look at his mother incredulously. _He_ had been through a lot? Compared to his mother and brother, his life had been a cakewalk. He knew nobody in the room would judge him, but the thought of bursting into tears like he was a little kid again— justified or not —was mortifying. “I’m alright. Especially now that you both are back,” he said, managing to swallow back his tears. He pulled himself out of the hug. “How are you both doing?”

“We’re adjusting,” Yuri said. “It’s been a very long day.”

“I know you had the trials and sentencing today, but what happened, exactly?” Yukio asked as delicately as possible. “They’re not… Nii-san isn’t going to be executed, right?”

Yuri, Shirou, and even Rin quickly launched into reassurances and explanations of the current situation. By the end of the explanations, Yukio’s dread had been partially replaced by pure bewilderment.

“They want Nii-san to be an exorcist,” Yukio stated blankly, as if unsure whether the statement was a joke. “And they want him to attend the exorcist cram school with all of the other students to do it.” The three nodded in unison. Yukio contemplated this information for only a few moments before replying, “So how do I sign up for this cram school?”

“ _What?!_ ” Rin blurted. Every time Yukio had visited him in prison, Rin had seen the contemptuous looks he gave the exorcist guards. Rin could hardly imagine his brother tolerating being in the same room with a bunch of aspiring exorcists, let alone training to become one himself. “You don’t have to do that, Yukio—”

“I’m not leaving you to deal with a classroom for the first time alone. Especially not when most of the people definitely aren’t going to want you there once they know,” Yukio said firmly.  “You have no clue what you’re getting into.” Years of bullying had given Yukio a tough skin and plenty of techniques to scare would-be bullies off; Rin, on the other hand, was literally a flaming target. Without someone looking out for him, he’d be torn apart— and that was without taking into account his total lack of experience with a formal classroom setting.

“That’s not necessary,” Father Fujimoto said. “I’m the one in charge of the class he’ll be in, and I’ll be looking out for your brother the entire time.”

“With all due respect, Uncle, there’s only so much a teacher can do.” Yukio knew better than anyone what kids could get away with when the teacher’s back was turned. “Besides, Nii-san has never so much as seen a classroom before. He’s going to need someone helping him one-on-one while he adjusts.”

“I can figure it out by myself! I’m not stupid,” Rin said defensively. How different could it be from homeschooling, really? While his early childhood had been full of unconventional learning methods, Rin had done his share of more traditional schoolwork by now. 

Yukio looked at him skeptically. “Nii-san, what do you do in class when the teacher asks a question and you know the answer?”

“Answer it, duh,” Rin said, folding his arms across his chest. “…What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“I know it never came up, but… you’re supposed to raise your hand and wait for the teacher to call your name, honey,” Yuri said gently, hand brushing against Rin’s upper arm. Rin turned beet red, tail curling inward underneath him.

“Okay, I see your point,” Shirou said quietly to Yukio. At best, Rin would flounder in his classroom without direct and personal guidance; at worst, he would be actively disruptive to the other students without even meaning to be.

“I could help in the classroom instead,” offered Yuri. Yukio was unable to keep himself from wincing; Rin’s eyes darted to the ground.

“Yuri, don’t you think it’s going to be hard enough for him without his mother helping him in class?” Shirou said.

Taken aback, Yuri replied, “I wasn’t thinking of it like that, but I see what you mean…” Not accompanying Yukio to school was a given, but Rin had always been her little homebody. It was difficult to admit to herself the best thing she could do in this situation was keep her distance for now. She’d be lying if she said the refusal didn’t hurt, but it was ultimately a sign of both her sons growing up. As much as she wanted to be there for her boys every step of the way, there’d come a day when she’d no longer be able to help them— it was reassuring to see them support each other.

“What are the other students like? Do they know who our father is?” Rin asked Shirou.

“Cram School hasn’t started, so I’ve yet to meet any of the students. Most of the other kids are from exorcist families I’m familiar with, though,” Father Fujimoto said, running a hand over his goatee thoughtfully. “Do you _want_ them to know?”

“I-I don’t know,” Rin said. If he was in their situation, Rin would want to know if one of his classmates was Satan’s child… but he also feared their reactions. “I don’t want to trick anyone or hide anything, but I don’t want to bring it up…”

“I think we should tell them if they ask, and that’s it,” Yukio chimed in. “They’ll probably figure it out once they see your flames for the first time, but before that, why announce it? Nobody else is walking in telling everyone who their father is.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Rin said, still fidgeting nervously. He had already planned on not using his flames around his classmates and it seemed even more important now. Making friends or even acquaintances was too much to hope for, but he wanted to avoid making anyone afraid or uncomfortable. “What about the teachers?”

“All of the teachers know already,” Shirou said apologetically. “Most of them won’t like you two because of it, honestly, but I can’t imagine any of them making large announcements to the other students.” Instead, any acts of bias would be quiet and near impossible to catch.

“I’ll take it,” Yukio said, shrugging. Rin felt a bit more at ease; if Yukio wasn’t worried, he had no need to be, either. Just then, Yukio glanced at the clock. “Is it really that late? I need to get back before curfew, or they won’t let me back into the dorm,” he said.

“You could stay here for tonight,” Yuri said. “It’s still on campus, and we’ve got plenty of room.”

Rin was giving him puppy dog eyes. “Please? You can stay in my room, it’s got two beds.” His tail slipped out from underneath his shirt to swish behind him eagerly, which Yukio knew to be a subtle show of vulnerability on Rin’s part. 

Yukio sighed, knowing he’d give in. Rin had been forced to sleep alone in a cold, dark prison cell for weeks, and now he’d been released into an empty, unfamiliar dormitory. Yukio was more than willing to field a few questions from Suguro the next day if it gave Rin some comfort… and honestly, he had sorely missed sharing a room with his older brother. “I’ll stay here for tonight, then,” he said. His brother and mother’s faces both lit up, and Rin pulled him into another bear hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, almost to the end of part two! Honestly amazed that I've gotten this far, haha. Thank you all so much for coming along on this ride, your comments and kudos keep me writing (and give me ideas >:) )! I'm going to try to get to part three of this series by January 2020, but I will warn that my updates may be sporadic at best.

**Author's Note:**

> Medical terms, defined:  
> A&Ox4: Alert and oriented to self, place, time, and event  
> Diaphoretic: sweaty  
> Eminescu assay*: Test devised by Nikolai Eminescu involving exposure of blood to various holy compounds. A positive test indicates the presence of demonic flames.  
> Fundoscope: Medical tool used to examine inside of eye  
> HR, RR, BP: heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure respectively  
> Innocent murmur: non-harmful heart murmur often heard in children and young adults  
> Nevi: moles  
> PERRLA: means pupils function normally  
> Pulse ox: short for pulse oximeter, roughly measures how much oxygen is reaching the blood  
> S1 and S2: normal heart sounds  
> Tapetum lucidum: reflective layer found on the inside of eyes of animals such as cats, causes eyeshine  
> WNL:within normal limits
> 
> *Invented by yours truly and entirely fictional


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